The ‘Thriller’ Sequence in ‘Michael’ Is Even More Impressive When You See How They Made It

Few moments in pop culture carry as much weight as the ‘Thriller’ music video. When Michael Jackson unveiled the near 14-minute mini-movie in December 1983, it fundamentally changed what a music video could be, setting a standard that the industry has spent decades trying to match.

Naturally, when a major biopic about the King of Pop finally arrived, how filmmakers would handle that iconic sequence became one of the most anticipated questions surrounding the entire production.

Antoine Fuqua’s ‘Michael’ has been one of the defining cinematic events of the year. Starring Jaafar Jackson as his late uncle and featuring a supporting cast that includes Colman Domingo, Nia Long, and Miles Teller, the film chronicles Michael Jackson’s life from his early days with the Jackson 5 through the peak of his solo career. It has grossed over $888 million worldwide, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of the year and the third-highest-grossing biographical film of all time.

Now that the film has made its way to home platforms, a behind-the-scenes clip of the ‘Thriller’ sequence is making the rounds, and it offers a fascinating window into just how much craft went into recreating one of pop music’s most untouchable moments. The footage shows the production in action on the night shoot, complete with the iconic red and yellow letterman jacket, the werewolf mask, and all the eerie atmosphere that made the original so electric.

Fuqua made authenticity the cornerstone of the project from the very beginning, going so far as to film at the exact location where Jackson originally shot the ‘Thriller’ video, a level of dedication that speaks to both the director’s reverence for his subject and the scale of ambition behind the entire film. He also filmed at Hayvenhurst, the Jackson family compound in Encino, California, and meticulously recreated the iconic costumes Jackson wore on stage.

What makes all of it land is the performance at its center. Jaafar Jackson had never acted before taking on this role, and the pressure of embodying his own uncle on the biggest possible stage would have broken most seasoned performers. Speaking to The Credits, Fuqua recalled the pivotal moment he knew Jaafar could carry the film, describing watching him perform in front of 500 or 600 screaming extras on day one, saying it felt like a real concert and that Jaafar had to repeat the same level of performance over and over from every angle for several days straight.

That commitment extends to the ‘Thriller’ sequence, where recreating even a fraction of the choreographic and atmospheric magic of the original video required enormous precision.

The original video itself was a landmark production, directed by John Landis and shot on 35-millimeter film with makeup by Oscar-winning artist Rick Baker, clocking in at nearly 14 minutes and eventually becoming the first music video to be registered in the National Film Registry. Matching that legacy on screen, even in a dramatized form, was never going to be a small task.

The film became available to purchase on digital streaming via premium video on demand on June 9, giving it a 46-day gap between its theatrical and streaming release. Viewers can now rent or purchase it across platforms including Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Fandango at Home, YouTube, and Google TV, with a physical media release loaded with bonus features arriving later. For those who missed it on the big screen, or who simply want to revisit the ‘Thriller’ sequence with fresh eyes, the timing could not be better.

Despite mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, ‘Michael’ earned a 97% audience score, reflecting a divide between how the press and the general public received the film.

Many critics found the storytelling too sanitized, but audiences turned up in enormous numbers, clearly hungry for a grand cinematic tribute to one of music history’s most extraordinary figures. The behind-the-scenes footage circulating now is a reminder that whatever its narrative limitations, the film spared absolutely nothing in the pursuit of spectacle.

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